It was perhaps no surprise, as the researchers set out to push the boundaries of 3D printing, that their attempts to rattle off cheesecakes didn’t meet with immediate success.
The first test started off pretty well, but as the printer built the dessert, tossing one layer and then the next, the creation began to slump before quietly collapsing into a sticky heap.
Despite the initial hiccup, detailed in a research report Tuesday, Columbia University engineers pushed ahead and soon managed to get the printer to squeeze out puddings that were recognizable, if not entirely irresistible.
The aim of the project was to demonstrate that 3D printing, a technology most commonly used for machine models and parts, had the potential to revolutionize the kitchen, turning cartridges of edible paste and powder into edible and perhaps one day even tempting meals.
“Cheesecake is the best we can display right now, but the printer can do so much more,” said Jonathan Blutinger, an engineer at Columbia’s Creative Machines Lab in New York. “We can print chicken, beef, vegetables and cheese. Anything that can be made into a paste, liquid, or powder.”
A roast chicken pasta may not be to the liking of lovers of food and the art of cooking, Blutinger believes that printed food is on the way, a natural consequence of the encounter of software with the archaic and analog world of kitchens, steamers and pans.
“I think it’s unavoidable. Once software touches an industry, we don’t look back. It propels you forward in ways we never thought possible. That hasn’t really happened yet with food,” he said.
“The vision is to have a food printer combined with a laser kitchen that can be a kind of one-stop kitchen appliance. It is your own personal digital chef.”
writing in the diary npj Food Science, researchers describe a 3D printer capable of building edible products from seven different ingredients. For the cheesecake, which took 30 minutes to come out, this meant cookie dough, peanut butter, strawberry jam, Nutella, mashed banana, cherry drizzle, and frosting. The printer is armed with a blue laser to cook layers into the hull if necessary.
After five failed attempts to print the dessert, the researchers found the correct shape and thickness for the different layers to prevent the cake from collapsing. In the name of research, even failures were relished. “It definitely tasted like something I hadn’t had before,” Blutinger said. “I rather enjoyed it, but it’s not a conventional mix. We are not Michelin chefs”.
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At all scales, from food manufacturers to restaurants to homes, 3D printers could be the next step in automation, taking more people out of the preparation process. Beyond the novelty value, Blutinger sees the technology as a way for people to track their calories and nutrients and unleash their inner creativity with radical new food designs that are shared as digital files on social networks. social networks.
But Andrew Feenberg, a professor of philosophy of technology at Vancouver’s Simon Fraser University, wonders if printed food could go the same way as the Segway, the “personal transporter” that was meant to transform the city but ended up serving workers in department stores. . “It could be most useful in restaurants and cafeterias where uploading of ingredients and software can be done during off-peak hours,” he said. “Customers would not notice the ‘unnatural’ aspect of the process, which would upset home users. I don’t feel like having a chez moi food 3D printer.”
Dr. Duane Mellor, a registered dietitian at Aston Medical School, worries that healthier nutrients like fiber and cell tissue are lost in fruits and vegetables to make them easier to print, leading to to fewer micronutrients, such as vitamins and minerals. But he believes the technology will find its place, perhaps in the Red Dwarf-style vending machines NASA is developing for long-duration space travel. “For most of us, we want a person to have made time for these types of foods,” he said.
